Earthquake landscape repair in Los Angeles
Retaining walls, slopes, drainage, and hardscape repaired after a quake — and honest words about what needs a structural engineer instead.
How we approach earthquake repair
When the ground moves, the landscape takes it first: retaining walls crack or lean, slopes loosen, drainage lines offset underground, and hardscape lifts where rigid surfaces meet. We repair and rebuild all of it — and because the most dangerous damage is the kind that stays invisible until the first winter rain, we look hardest at the drainage and the slopes, not just the cracks you called about.
We are equally plain about what is not ours. A C-27 landscaping licence covers the landscape and the structures within it: walls, grading, drainage, hardscape, pool decks and coping, irrigation, lighting, and planting. It does not cover the house — foundations, framing, and chimneys belong to a structural engineer and other trades — and a cracked pool shell belongs to a C-53 pool contractor. We will tell you which is which on the first walk, at no charge.
Part of our complete scope. See all services, or explore landscape design, hardscape, outdoor living, pool construction, irrigation and drainage, planting and sod, artificial turf, landscape maintenance, and outdoor lighting.
What this covers
- Retaining wall repair and rebuilding, with drainage behind the wall
- Slope stabilization, regrading, and deep-rooting replanting
- Drainage inspection, repair, and rerouting before the rains
- Cracked and lifted hardscape: pavers reset, concrete cut and replaced
- Pool deck and coping repair (the shell itself is C-53 pool contractor work)
- Irrigation leak tracing and buried line repair
See how a project works, what drives cost, or financing options. Wondering what to check first? Start with the earthquake damage guide.
Earthquake Repair questions
If the damage touches the house — foundation, slab, framing, chimney — or you are unsure what is load-bearing, start with a licensed structural engineer: with their report in hand, nobody spends money repairing the wrong thing first. If the damage is in the landscape — a retaining wall, a slope, drainage, hardscape, a pool deck — that is C-27 work and it is ours. We will tell you honestly on the first walk if what you have needs the engineer first.
Drainage and slopes, almost always. A leaning or bulging retaining wall above a house, driveway, or patio is the exception — keep people out from below it and have it assessed promptly. Everything else is ordered by what the first winter rain would do to it: an offset drain line or a loosened slope that shows no symptom in dry weather can fail in the first real storm, while cosmetic cracking in a wall face or a patio can safely wait.
The two systems that hide damage: drainage and irrigation. Both run underground, both can be offset or cracked by shaking without any surface sign, and both announce the problem months later as a flooded slope or a water bill. Confirm every drain still carries water through to its outlet, and watch the water meter's low-flow indicator with everything switched off. Our earthquake damage guide walks through the full property check in order.
Stronger, wherever the failure shows us why it failed. The trench is already open during a repair, so correcting the cause costs a fraction of what a second failure would: where the original wall lacked drainage behind it, we add it; where a slope failed bare, we replant it with deep-rooting species that hold soil; where hardscape cracked over a poor base, we compact a proper one before anything goes back. Rebuilding the same wall twice is the most expensive way to own one.
Earthquake Repair we are asked about most in Northridge, Sherman Oaks, Glendale, and across our service areas.
See what on your lot.
No two properties price the same. We walk yours, measure it, and put the earthquake repair scope in writing at no cost.
7500 Valjean Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · Free site walk and written estimate. Financing available.